African CSOs call on the African Union to rise to the urgency of the climate crisis in Africa

PRESS RELEASE: FRENCH, ENGLISH

Addis Ababa, February 18, 2023: As the 36^th AU Heads of States and Governments Summit kicks off from today, February 18-19, 2023, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African Civil Society Organizations coalesced under the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance call on the African Union to rise to the urgency of the climate crisis in Africa.

Dr. Mithika Mwenda, the Executive Director of Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) said that voices of communities must be heard and that the summit need to have this in discussions during the summit.

“PACJA has played a significant role in strengthening African Voices in the global dialogues on climate change and rallied climate action at the local, and national levels. We will continue to prioritize the voices of Africans and ensure justice for all”, said Dr. Mithika Mwenda.

CSOs have called on African Presidents and Heads of State through the AUC to send a strong message to their Northern counterparts that they cannot use the current geopolitical context as a pretext for delaying badly needed climate action and advancing false solutions.

“We recommend the convening of an African Peoples’ Summit on Climate Action at the instance of the AU, the African Group of Negotiators, the Civil Society and other Non-State Actors to reassess the utility of the UNFCCC process to Africa after two decades. Such a Summit’s aims should include developing homegrown strategies for tackling the impacts of climate change, announcing actions to force big polluters to take responsibility for their emissions and the effect of their pollution on African communities, and adopting a regional masterplan for accelerating a just transition of the continent’s development, industrialisation and overall economic transformation” said Dr. Mithika 

Sarah Ngoy, the Coordinator of Forum for Climate Change in Tanzania said that as African leaders are convening at the AU Headquarters, it is ample time for them to discuss and take decision that bring hope to African communities facing unprecedented climate calamities.  “We need to strengthen collective action within African Countries, leaders must come up with decisions that respond to the needs of the communities at the frontline of the Climate Crisis” Sarah Ngoy.

Yared Deme from World Resources Institute called the African leaders to support Research and African Group of Negotiators (AGN) to be able to advocate to develop African inputs into the newly created facility for the financing of loss and damage and provide technical support to AGN representatives in the fund establishment process.

“We reiterate the importance of increasing the number of funds/investments that is channeled towards research on climate change, and climate action for Africa specially to ensure that there is substantiated evidence that boosts negotiations for Africa” said Yared.

“Noting the implications of the recent events Dr. Augustine Njamnshi from  urged the  AU, the United Nations and other bodies to join the African civil society in rejecting the appointment of Sultan al-Jaber, head of oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), as the President-designate of COP28.  “We Reiterate that addressing the climate crisis requires deep cuts in the production and use of fossil fuels. That course of action is squarely at variance with al-Jaber’s business interests. It is hard to see al-Jaber leading objective, science-backed negotiations in the interest of the most vulnerable,” said Augustine.

About PACJA

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance is a consortium of more than 1000 organizations from 51 African countries that brings together a diverse membership drawn from Grassroots,

Community-based organizations, Faith-based Organizations, Non-Governmental organizations, Trusts, Foundations, Indigenous Communities, Farmers and Pastoralist Groups with a shared vision to advance a people-centered, right-based, just and inclusive approach to address climate and environmental challenges facing humanity and the planet.

www.pacja.org

For more interviews contact, Mr. Fidele Niyigaba, Communication and Knowledge Management Manager, PACJA, Tel: +254743236888/ +250788616669 (WhatsApp), Email: fidele.niyigaba@pacja.org